Breakfast or Brunch Cake in a Snap

If you like something sweet in the morning,but not too sweet, and if you want it to be an easy throw-it-together kind of affair, perfect for a last-minute brunch, this is definitely the ticket.  The only ingredient  required that isn't a household staple (at least in my house) is buttermilk. But as it turns out, I had a bit of leftover buttermilk and a hankering to experiment, making this experiment a snap, as well as a success.

One reason this cake is so quick to make is that it uses oil instead of butter for the cake itself. And when butter is used for the streusel crumb topping, it is melted; you don't have to wait around until it comes to room temperature.

Two tips:

• Powdered buttermilk, which lasts far longer than the "regular" kind, is commonly sold in US grocery stores, and maybe elsewhere too, in the baking aisle. Although I haven't done a taste test to compare this cake with powdered and regular buttermilk, I've used powdered before and it's perfectly acceptable. 
• Blueberries are not always available, even in season. So I like to keep a bnag of frozen berries at the ready, just in case I need them for a cake or muffins. You can freeze fresh blueberries or buy them frozen. To freeze them, simply wash and dry well on a paper towel, then place in a freezer bag in a single layer and place in the freezer. They last for months.

Blueberry Coffee Cake with Streusel Topping

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Chocolate Berry Shortcakes

I love shortcakes and whipped cream with berries.  Individually each element is divine and together the effect is nothing short of phenomenal.  This month, Abby Dodge’s Baketogether challenge takes the whole deal up a notch.  Changing the shortcakes from the traditional “plain vanilla” version to chocolate and the whipped cream to a whipped cream/mascarpone combination was sheer genius.  

Of course, I couldn’t leave well enough alone, even when starting with that pumped up version (recipe here.)  I tossed almond-flavor into the shortcakes, the whipping cream/mascarpone mixture and the berry sauce, used homemade buttermilk and mascarpone cheese instead of store-bought, and switched out the strawberries for a combination of decent store-bought raspberries and insanely good blackberries from Westmoreland Berry Farm.  Finally, I used a biscuit cutter to make my shortcakes round instead of cut into squares.

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No-Bake Russian Wafer Cake or Oblatne

Is it any surprise that my ideal adventure has nothing to do with camping or wild animals?  I’m a city girl, born and bred.  Roaming around a neighborhood filled with ethnic grocery stores, bakeries, restaurants, and bookstores is heaven to me.  

On a recent trip to New York City, I explored Brighton Beach, Brooklyn.   The neighborhood is home to a large community of Russian immigrants and as we walked around, it felt as though we could have easily been in Eastern Europe instead of NY.  

With amazing dried fruits, fresh baked bread, deli and beautiful baked goods all around me, I browsed my way up one street and down anlther.  Shoppers and sellers all seemed to be chatting in Russian.  Though I’m sure I could have found someone to answer questions in English, I was content to wander on my own through store aisles and open-air displays crowded with food and people.

I could easily have bought lots of goodies.  However, my better half reminded me that transporting heavy bags by subway and on foot would be difficult.  Reluctantly I limited my purchases to 2 packages of the lightest and least expensive item I saw – these wafers.

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